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Conservation Act 1987

Freshwater fisheries - Various restrictions relating to fishing and aquatic life

26ZM: Transfer or release of live aquatic life

You could also call this:

"Moving fish and other aquatic animals to a new home in New Zealand's freshwater needs permission"

You cannot move live aquatic life to a new place in freshwater without permission. The Minister of Fisheries must approve moving live aquatic life between places where the species already exists or between islands in New Zealand. You need approval from the Minister of Conservation to move live aquatic life to a new place where the species does not already exist.

You must get permission from the Minister of Conservation to move a species of live aquatic life to land or water managed under this Act or other Acts listed in the Schedule 1. If you want to move live aquatic life, you usually need to advertise your plan in a newspaper and let people comment on it. The Director-General can ask you for a report on how your plan might affect the environment.

If the live aquatic life is a sports fish, the Director-General must tell the Fish and Game Council about your plan and consider their comments. You can be fined up to $5,000 if you break the rules about moving live aquatic life. Some rules do not apply if you are moving live aquatic life to a fish farm where the species already exists or if you are a Fish and Game Council moving sports fish within the same island. These rules apply to everyone, except in a few special cases.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM106010.

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Part 5BFreshwater fisheries
Various restrictions relating to fishing and aquatic life

26ZMTransfer or release of live aquatic life

  1. No person shall transfer live aquatic life or release live aquatic life into any freshwater, except in accordance with this section.

  2. The prior approval of the Minister of Fisheries shall be required for the following:

  3. the movement of live aquatic life between locations where the species already exists:
    1. the movement of live aquatic life between the islands of New Zealand.

      1. The prior approval of the Minister of Conservation shall be required for the following:

      2. the transfer of live aquatic life to or the release of live aquatic life in a new location where the species does not already exist (including the transfer of a new species to or the release of a new species in an existing or a new fish farm):
        1. the transfer of a species of live aquatic life to any land or water managed or administered under this Act or any other Act specified in Schedule 1.

          1. The following provisions shall apply where the approval of the Minister of Conservation is required under subsection (3):

          2. the applicant must, unless subsection (4A) applies, advertise, on at least 2 consecutive Saturdays in at least 1 newspaper circulating in the area concerned, the intention to transfer or release live aquatic life:
            1. every advertisement under paragraph (a) shall state that submissions or objections in respect of its subject matter should be sent to the Director-General within 20 working days after the date specified in the advertisement for that purpose (being a date that is not earlier than the date on which the advertisement is first published):
              1. the Director-General may require an applicant to provide an environmental impact assessment report before granting approval:
                1. if the live aquatic life that is to be transferred or released is a species of sports fish, at least 10 working days before the Minister decides whether to give approval,—
                  1. the Director-General must give written notice to the Fish and Game Council for the region or regions in which the transfer or release of the sports fish is to take place; and
                    1. the Minister must have regard to any comments provided by the Fish and Game Council within the time frame specified in that notice.

                    2. The Director-General may, at the request of the applicant, determine that compliance with subsection (4) is not required if satisfied that the proposed activity is unlikely to have an adverse effect on the freshwater fishery concerned.

                    3. Every person commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding $5,000 who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1).

                    4. Nothing in this section applies to the transfer of any live aquatic life to an existing fish farm where the species is already present.

                    5. Except where the Director-General or the Director-General of Agriculture and Fisheries requires it to comply with this section, nothing in this section shall apply to the transfer by a Fish and Game Council of sports fish to another location within the same island in New Zealand where the species is already present.

                    6. Except as provided in subsections (5A) and (6), this section applies to all persons.

                    Notes
                    • Section 26ZM: inserted, on , by section 17 of the Conservation Law Reform Act 1990 (1990 No 31).
                    • Section 26ZM(2)(a): amended, on , by section 11(1) of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 55).
                    • Section 26ZM(4)(a): amended, on , by section 11(2) of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 55).
                    • Section 26ZM(4)(b): amended, on , by section 3 of the Conservation Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 47).
                    • Section 26ZM(4)(d): inserted, on , by section 11(3) of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 55).
                    • Section 26ZM(4A): inserted, on , by section 11(4) of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 55).
                    • Section 26ZM(5): substituted, on , by section 26(1) of the Conservation Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 1).
                    • Section 26ZM(5A): inserted, on , by section 26(1) of the Conservation Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 1).
                    • Section 26ZM(7): added, on , by section 26(2) of the Conservation Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 1).